Living With Aloha...

I'm back on the mainland from my long weekend away on the island of Oahu... I didn't realize how much I missed being there.. It is EXACTLY what I needed to get away from the crazy madness life can throw at you.. I was lying on the beach in Waikiki, my favorite local tanning spot, Kaimana, and I was staring into the distance and I had this weird feeling like I had never left.. like the last four months I had been gone hadn't even happened. I love that Hawaii is my sanctuary.. I feel nothing but love when I'm surrounded by the sun, ocean, and the best friends a girl could have..


These pics were taken with my awesome Holga camera.. I love using it, but the anticipation when you have to develop the film kills me!! Some pics I used the fisheye lens and some with a red flash but others are natural light leaks.. I was also shooting with expired film for the extra edge.. Every picture is unique in its own way... Oh lomography.. my new hobby..





Acai bowls after at the Health Bar?! The life..



I love Bambu Two.. I mean who can beat $3.50 martini's?! We kept them flowing the whole night..







Some Apartment 3 debauchery... I love their After School Special which is a grilled cheese with tomato soup.. the stuff will save your life..






A new restaurant opened up called Yogur Story (yes, minus the "t".. it's owned by asians.. go figure)... They definitely need to work on their customer service. From the moment we walked in, they warned us it would be 30 minutes before we could even order since the kitchen was backed up. Plenty of seats.. not enough cooks or maybe it was their lack of kitchen size.. The food was ok.. I think my favorite part of the restaurant is the decor.. Maybe I'll try it again after they establish themselves..








Wow, this is a long blog.. I promise it's almost done.. Mariposa is definitely one of my absolute favorite restaurants.. Brunch there is indescribable.. It's all about detail and appeasing your palette. They start you off with this broth to cleanse your taste buds then come along their ever so popular pop overs (bread - yummy goodness).. I had about 4 of them.. I could barely finish my lunch!!




Morimoto's is to die for, it's inside the EDITION.. the food is so ridic.. The customer service is another issue. If you have a large party, large being 10 or more, they make it a big issue and have you deal with their customer relations person.. this person is not my favorite because when I tried dealing with them for my Birthday back in October they were the worst. I sized down the party to 8 and magically it was ok. Why is it that with every other restaurant on the planet, making a reservation is easy, but with Morimoto's I almost have to beg with a large party? Do they not want the money?! (anyone else have this problem?) Sorry, rant.. The food and decor is what they have going for them.. The pictures explain:





To end the night, we headed to Lobby Bar.. this place is AMAZING.. I've written about them before, but their drinks, in particular the Geisha is a must.. get it if you go..



My first visit back to Hawaii did not disappoint.. EXCEPT for the sun was playing hide and seek with me. Guess I'll just have to book another vacation getaway.. April it is!! Lucky to live aloha.. The islands have such beauty and depth and built in happiness.. It forever has my heart.

OH.. and I got crafty again... Pretty Girl Rock for your face...


...Live life with meaning, grace, happiness, and respect for others and the land we live on.. Aloha Hard..

Too Late To Apologize... One Republic...

Remember back in the day when MySpace ruled the internet world?? Before Facebook became so popular and tweeting in 140 characters or less became an everyday norm to let the world know what you were doing, right down to the type of drink you were enjoying?? I am guilty of doing this myself I must admit.. But back in the day, MySpace was actually used for good.. getting unheard of bands to the ears of those across the world.. One Republic is a perfect example of the good the social site was meant for. With their single "Apologize", I was hooked.. They had a ton of song hits on their page and they weren't even signed.. yet... They've stuck around and kept putting out hit after hit now as a signed band.. I got the pleasure of watching one of their performances at the infamous Roadrunner Music Hall.. If you missed it, you can catch their show on the website.. All I can say is when they sang live, they were better than the CD..








Me, Chris, the band... Hang loose...


...when you find that perfect song that speaks to you, put it on repeat.. who cares who's listening..

Destination: Honolulu, Hawaii.. Paradise.. TODAY!

I finally get to go back to Hawaii after being away for 4 months!! It's been so long since I've seen some friends of mine and felt true real sunshine.. I can't wait to get into the warm water and see my toes at the bottom of the ocean floor. I was always busy when I lived there and tried to not take advantage of my surroundings and it's still weird to think I lived there for over 5 years! It went by so fast and I truly love it there.. That city will always have my heart in so many different ways. It's time for some insane rejuvenation from the madness of recent events. You can probably find me lurking around Mariposa, EDITION Hotel (Lobby Bar, Crazybox, Morimoto's, pool), Pearl - for old times sake, Original Pancake House, Hokulani Cupcakes, Fashionista's Market, Macy's at Ala Moana (Estee Lauder counter), and all over Waikiki.. Time to get back into my element!! Even booked a couple modelings jobs.. ahhhhh, the life.. See you there!!


*Artist: Kerne Erickson

I'll probably do some typical poses like this one on the beach...
*Photo by Dylan Dawson

Or maybe this pose poolside at the EDITION..


Go and see the beautiful skyline at sunset...



And see my awesome friends who are all educated, beautiful, goal oriented, and have the BEST hearts you could possibly ask for... these people are going places!!





...Dear Sun, Please give me back my Hawaii-kissed tan..

FanFest 2011... Baseball Season Is Upon Us!!

Over the weekend we headed to downtown San Diego to partake in the FanFest festivities. The event basically gives locals and tourists a chance to see Petco Park up close and personal and get hyped up before the baseball season starts.. I can't wait to start going to Padre games!! Yet another bonus to moving back to the mainland!! Can you say hot dogs and cotton candy?! We definitely took advantage of this day and ran around like kids.. Here are the pictures to prove it...











And then... we checked out the locker/workout room... ummmmm, yeah....






We just want to go in coach... put us in!!! (if we were hanging out in the dugout, this is what we would look like)..


ALSO, they let us run the bases!!! Of COURSE we HAD to!!







Did you see the look on that little girls face running the bases?? She was not messing around!

GO PADRES!!!


Afterwards we headed to a couple happy hours, but the view from Altitude takes the cake!



...for the love of the game, comraderie, and peanuts...